really strange floating goldfish..

B3chicy · 11-29-2006, 09:43 AM

This is going to sound ridiculous, but my goldfish sleeps upside down. He's not dead, and I'm assuming, not sick, since he has been doing this since I brought him home over six months ago. He floats (usually upside down) at the top of the tank and then will occassionally flip over and swim around. It's as though he has no choice as sometimes he will try to swim to the bottom and then give up and float right back up. Does anyone have any idea why on earth he does this? I've looked everywhere and I can't figure it out so any insight would be greatly appreciated!

emc7 · 11-29-2006, 11:55 AM

Sounds like a swim bladder issue. Most sleeping fish rest upright on the bottom. It sounds like he is compensating ok when hes awake, but is vulnerable to getting blown around at night. Search for swim bladder, there are some thing you can try, but I think the cure rates are very low. It could be an injury or birth defect, rather than a disease, but this is not a healthy fish.

harif87 · 11-29-2006, 12:00 PM

fish recouperate from swim bladder often times. like emc7 said, search for swim bladder on FF, there is alot of info.

Willow · 11-30-2006, 04:06 PM

One of my fancy goldies would float around after every meal. He'd stabilize himself after a few hours, it seems as though the fish food gave him gas. At first, I just fed him at night, so that he'd be OK by morning, so at least I wouldn't have to watch him float around :P , but that wasn't a long-term solution. I gave him a lot of peas (thawed frozen peas, sqeezed out of the skins), and introduced frozen fish foods (found in the freezer at PetCo) into his diet. He hasn't floated for a good long time now.

harif87 · 11-30-2006, 06:35 PM

Was the food that was fed dry food? If so it could be the cause.

B3chicy · 12-05-2006, 08:51 AM

Thanks so much for your replies everyone! I did a lot of research online about swim bladder (which I had never heard of) and tried the method of feeding him two peas a day to "relieve the pressure on his swim bladder" and it worked amazingly! Although now I feel very terrible that my poor little fish was, more or less, constipated for about 10 months.

Willow · 12-05-2006, 09:40 PM

I'm sure you saw all the suggestions for treating swimbladder problems while you were researching, but the other things that worked for me were feeding frozen foods, and, when feeding dry foods, soaking them in a glass of water first. Dry food can cause problems if not soaked first, and it's better if the food sinks, so that they aren't sucking up all that air from the surface.

11-29-2006, 09:43 AM	#1
B3chicy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 22 Posts: 2	really strange floating goldfish.. This is going to sound ridiculous, but my goldfish sleeps upside down. He's not dead, and I'm assuming, not sick, since he has been doing this since I brought him home over six months ago. He floats (usually upside down) at the top of the tank and then will occassionally flip over and swim around. It's as though he has no choice as sometimes he will try to swim to the bottom and then give up and float right back up. Does anyone have any idea why on earth he does this? I've looked everywhere and I can't figure it out so any insight would be greatly appreciated!

11-29-2006, 12:00 PM	#3
harif87 Minor Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Age: 21 Posts: 996	fish recouperate from swim bladder often times. like emc7 said, search for swim bladder on FF, there is alot of info. __________________ sorry for beating you senseless "The human torch was denied a bank loan"

11-30-2006, 06:35 PM	#5
harif87 Minor Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Age: 21 Posts: 996	Was the food that was fed dry food? If so it could be the cause. __________________ sorry for beating you senseless "The human torch was denied a bank loan"

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11-29-2006, 11:55 AM	#2
emc7 Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Johns Creek, GA Posts: 3,243	Sounds like a swim bladder issue. Most sleeping fish rest upright on the bottom. It sounds like he is compensating ok when hes awake, but is vulnerable to getting blown around at night. Search for swim bladder, there are some thing you can try, but I think the cure rates are very low. It could be an injury or birth defect, rather than a disease, but this is not a healthy fish.

11-30-2006, 04:06 PM	#4
Willow Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 129	One of my fancy goldies would float around after every meal. He'd stabilize himself after a few hours, it seems as though the fish food gave him gas. At first, I just fed him at night, so that he'd be OK by morning, so at least I wouldn't have to watch him float around :P , but that wasn't a long-term solution. I gave him a lot of peas (thawed frozen peas, sqeezed out of the skins), and introduced frozen fish foods (found in the freezer at PetCo) into his diet. He hasn't floated for a good long time now.

12-05-2006, 08:51 AM	#6
B3chicy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Age: 22 Posts: 2	Thanks so much for your replies everyone! I did a lot of research online about swim bladder (which I had never heard of) and tried the method of feeding him two peas a day to "relieve the pressure on his swim bladder" and it worked amazingly! Although now I feel very terrible that my poor little fish was, more or less, constipated for about 10 months.

12-05-2006, 09:40 PM	#7
Willow Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 129	I'm sure you saw all the suggestions for treating swimbladder problems while you were researching, but the other things that worked for me were feeding frozen foods, and, when feeding dry foods, soaking them in a glass of water first. Dry food can cause problems if not soaked first, and it's better if the food sinks, so that they aren't sucking up all that air from the surface.

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